As some of you know, Mitch and I bought un pequito rancho last fall. It’s a sweet little place, tucked into a low-lying crease in the breathtaking Wet Mountain Valley. We’ve had friends express a degree of envy at this purchase, but I’m quick to disabuse them of the romance. Scrubbing cabinets free of mouse excretions built up over 20 years has a way of popping the bubble. Also, it’s not in Boulder County, where un pequito rancho would cost roughly the same as a tiny vineyard in Napa. It’s in the breathtaking WMV, a place nobody has ever heard of.

Last weekend, after ingesting an absurd amount of carbohydrates, we headed to El Rancho for another fine weekend living the HGTV dream. I knit enroute on the Kim Hargreaves rip-off cardi, which I would show, except you know what green stockinette looks like. I promise to display it after I make the second raglan ascent.

El Rancho casa is mostly painted now, except for the bath, which requires wallpaper stripping and more de-mousing, which I just haven’t been able to face, so we cleaned carpets—the sludge that came out of those things, hoo boy, you could have made mud pies—and hung curtains. See:

I wanted something Southwestern-looking and cheap reasonably priced, plus I love repurposing items, so that blankets become curtains, quilts transform into table cloths, plastic lacing becomes a belt. I found curtain hardware for a great price at Target and bought Mexican blankets here. The place is still a bit of a mess, but you get the idea. Overall, we’re liking the window treatments, but I’m concerned they might be too graduate studenty. Feel free to weigh in.

We also switched out the knobs and pulls on the cabinets. Our friend Patricia supplied two chihuahua-headed knobs as a housewarming gift, so it’s official. Welcome to El Rancho de Chihuahua!